Part 25: 5/7-5/8: All Aboard The Cat Bus
Part 24: 5/7-5/8: All Aboard The Cat BusMusic: Mementos
Loop that track about 40 times. Congratulations, you now have the Mementos Experience. Isnt it great?
Yeah, I guess itd be strange driving on the tracks like this in the real world Anyway, Nakanoharas somewhere in here, right?
Most likely in a segment of his own creation. Dont worry, it wont be the size of a Palace. Our next step is to find an entrance to that segment.
And whats this entrance gonna look like?
I have no idea, but strong distortions should be a pretty obvious visual clue.
So we just gotta go wanderin around for it then? What a goddamn pain in the ass...
So, our objective now is to ride around the subway tracks looking for a distortion to find Nakanohara.
Over here, we see a roaming Shadow.
Our strategy: ram the fuck into it.
These Slimes make up most of the encounters on this floor, and have a nasty tendency to blow themselves up. Thankfully, theyre weak to Wind and Fire.
We also get a chance to see Ryujis follow-up attack down here.
Its kind of a lot.
Eventually, we find the distortion.
Dude, the hell is this ? Its all wavy and shit.
This is the place I sense the target up ahead. Now, are you ready, Joker?
That seems to be Nakanoharas Shadow.
Lemme see. Some front desk guy at City Hall became a stalker, right?
I dont know how much evil hes done, but we have to do something if hes bothering other people.
All right, well go talk to him.
Music: Desire
Are you that stalker!? Havent you ever stopped to consider how your ex feels?
Shes my property! I can do whatever I want with her! Its not like she didnt treat me like a plaything! Whats wrong with me doing the same!?
You cant treat someone like shit just cause they did it to you! What a load of crap...
There are millions of people far worse than me! What about Madarame ? He stole everything from me, but youre letting him off the hook!?
...Madarame? The hells this guy goin on about?
Music: Keeper of Lust
Look This is a winner-takes-all world. Come fight me and Ill show you what I mean!
Shadow Nakanohara starts by increasing his Attack. This could be a problem, but...
Skull Cracker immediately inflicts Confusion, forcing it to spend its turns doing nothing, throwing items away, or throwing money away. Those last two are great for us because we get the spoils, but it also means this thing doesnt get a single turn to attack before we kill it, which is why I didnt even bother posting a video of the fight like I usually do. A lot of Mementos minibosses are susceptible to ailments, which can trivialize them.
Music: Victory
Everyone leveled up and gained new skills from this fight, too.
Ryuji learns Headbutt, which is Medium Physical with a medium chance of Forget.
Morgana learns Media, which is a light heal to the entire party.
Finally, Ann learns Tarunda, which is single-target Attack down. Its pretty handy.
Music: Suspicion
That evil teacher used me, then threw me out on the street. Thats what caused my fixation on her...
Huh? Could it be that Madarame guy he was talkin about earlier?
Yeah I just didnt want anyone to throw me out again
So some selfish bastard was making you suffer too Still, you shouldnt have dragged an unrelated woman into your mess.
Yes, I know that now. Ill put an end to my love for her ...Hey you can change peoples hearts, right? In that case Wont you change Madarames heart!? Before more people fall victim to him...
Change Madarames heart?
Hm? Whats that shinin thing?
Its the bud of a Treasure. Had we left it be, it very well may have blossomed into a Palace. Joker, this will make a perfect reward!
Most likely.
But how are we supposed to know if we succeeded?
The lady posted the dudes name online. If he really does change, shell prolly comment again.
Hm, you do have a point.
Either way, trainin against Shadows down heres the best! Its great prep for our next target!
Its also nice to be able to give courage to the people who post their problems online.
On top of that, we can sell whatever treasure we get for some cold, hard cash!
All right, we did it!
Hold on. Theres somewhere I want to show you guys before we leave.
What, theres more?
Dont worry, it wont take long.
Music: Mementos
Theres something Id like to check in an area further down. That platform we saw earlier should be the way down. Lets head there first.
Wait, youve been here before, right? Dont you got like a map or something?
That would hold no meaning in this place. The layout changes every time you enter.
Wait, so our path changes too!?
This place is the fused cognition of a countless number of people. Its constantly shifting. Even so, our destination should be pretty close. Im counting on you, Joker.
Yep, Mementos is randomly generated, just like P3's Tartarus and all of P4's dungeons.
Before we head down, though, lets check the item we got. This Attachment Pearl nulls Forget.
Of course they are. Were in the subway, you know.
Yeah, but I thought this was a Palace!
Then maybe this is how the public views this place? I dont know.
People go through this darkness every day ?
Forget that! You sure were cool runnin around on these tracks!?
It should be fine as long as were not on the same ones I think. Im no train expert.
Youve gotta be kiddin me...
Anyway, lets head to the lower area. It should be right after we go down to that escalator.
Music: Suspicion
And a dead end at that. Whys it even exist?
Now hold on Just watch. This is most likely not an ordinary wall. If my hunch is correct...
A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information.
See!? Its just as I thought!
What do you mean?
That wall wouldnt budge when I came here by myself before. But itd be weird for the deepest part of Mementos to be some normal place like this, wouldnt it?
So you were thinkin theres gotta be more?
Yeah! Now that Kamoshidas Palace is gone and people are actually starting to talk about us I knew something had to have changed down here!
How deep is it? Should we try going further down?
Lets not. Thats not why were here today, remember? Weve already accomplished our goal. We should head back and Ill explain more once were home.
Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)
Oh, and what was that wall thing we saw at the end?
Im not entirely sure, but it blocked us from going in past a certain depth. If Mementos is the publics Palace though it might be affected by the general publics belief in us.
Why do you know so much about it, Morgana?
My memories are a little foggy in that regard However, I need to know what lies in the depths of Mementos, no matter what.
No matter what ?
Mementos is not just everyones Palace, its the source of all Palaces. It used to be that Palaces like Kamoshidas with one ruler simply didnt exist. So if we can do something about the greatest cause of distortions, Im certain my appearance will !
You wanted someone to save you too...
I-I just needed pawns.
I see So thats why you came pokin your nose around with us.
...Ill help you. I hope you can regain what youve lost.
Ill be relying on you guys.
By the way Morgana are you a boy? Or might you be a girl?
Theres only one choice here.
That is a possibility!
I wish I could deny it, but I just cant be sure.
...In any case, of course Im male! I mean, I
...What is it?
No its nothing. Were done talking about that! Anyway, we now know that we can perform minor changes of heart in Mementos. If we come across any eye-catching leads, it may be worth dealing with them for a bit of combat practice.
There werent any other outstanding ones though...
I bet well get tons of em if we can change someone famous and make the Phantom Thieves well-known. The big fish are our main targets after all.
First you need to find a way to get through your exams.
The games all, you should really just fucking chill. Study for those exams or whatever, youre still at Rank 1 Knowledge, dumbass.
A mysterious stranger stares at us...
Music: Beneath the Mask
If we can take down some kinda big target next, were totally gonna get famous.
See?
I dont think that youre necessarily wrong But should we really be doing this at all if we dont have a reason like with Kamoshida?
You mean we shouldnt be sticking our noses into other peoples business? I dunno, man. If someones in trouble, its only natural to wanna help em out!
I mean, I agree with that. And I guess I was glad we were able to solve the stalker case.
The same goes for me.
We dont got much time to be arguing over this either. That Madarame(?) guy bothers me.
Yeah. But no getting carried away, you understand? And dont do anything to stand out like fail your exams.
Oh crap! Speaking of that, I havent studied at all
Is it Ryuji? Did he mention anything about Mementos? If theres anything you want to know, I can tell you.
Lets take Morgana up on that.
Well, its the collective Palace of the general public. Deep inside each and every humans mind is an obscured thought process known as the unconscious. These thought processes then meld together and form what I like to call the collective unconscious.
Yeah, sure, you totally didnt just steal that from a psychology textbook.
In other words, Mementos is a shared cognitive world created by the joint distortions of society as a whole. You can just think of it as the big Palace made from everyones hearts though.
I would bet it was because of the shift in public opinion caused by Kamoshidas change of heart. Those kinds of big changes in the tide will surely have an impact on what goes on in Mementos. In other words, we might be able to get even further if we can rouse up more public acknowledgement. Well need to take down another target in order for that to happen though!
In other words: Its gated by the story, idiot.
I have a feeling that something deep within that place has caused me to take my current form. Thats why Im so invested in reaching the depths of Mementos. If we can figure out the cause of my distorted form, I should go back to normal I think. Either way, Ill be counting on you guys to help me out.
Oh, and its important to note that both Mementos and the Palaces are affected by real world happenings. Weathers a great example of that. I mean, weather affects your mood, doesnt it? Same goes for Mementos. You should try heading in on a day with bad weather. Ill explain in more detail then.
Tomorrow on Good Morning Japan, our guest is Japanese artist Ichiryusai Madarame. A master who brings fantastical scenes to life, how does he feel about his latest exhibition?
Duhhhhhhhh, I wonder if that could be the person were looking for.
No, I have to go work at the beef bowl shop so the speech man will love me! Damn you, cat!
Anon: gtfo with that shit LOL
Anon: ugh another online rumor?
Anon: ya rite lol
Anon: of hearts? what tryhards
I mean, I want to argue, but that last one is probably the exact reaction I would have.
Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)
Its OK, you dont have to say it. I know deep down in my heart that it was useful.
Okay, I kinda wanna pants this twerp.
Anyway, Im in Shibuya right now. Id love it if you could come hear me out about your future actions! Ill be waiting at the diner in Shibuya. You gotta swing by!
Either way, it sounds like he has something important to say. Why not go see what it is? I wont be joining you though. Theres something in Mementos I need to go look into. Well, hopefully Mishima has something useful for you
Music: My Homie
Oops, sorry about that. I havent been getting a lot of sleep lately. Ive been staying up managing the Phan-Site all night, every night. I think its called PR?
The Phantom Thieves Aficionado Website! Phan-Site for short. You need a catchy name if you want people to notice you. This is all a bit of P-Thieves propaganda! Basically, theres no point to taking down bad guys if nobodys gonna know about it. Thats why Ive started a blog for posts from people you guys saved, while filtering out the haters. We need the Phantom Thieves to be seen in the proper light if we want to make the name popular, right?
Eh. lets throw him a bone.
Though actually, I really wanna know how you punish people Dont worry, Im not gonna ask. It wouldnt be any fun if you just up and told me. After all, the Phantom Thieves have a reputation for being secretive!
But Ill still be here to draw attention to the stuff you do! You can leave that part to me! Im gonna use my Phan-Site to promote the Phantom Thieves, and weed out any negative comments. Your popularity is gonna be at my mercy or uh, my fingertips. Its like Ill be your strategic image management representative, so to speak.
Im gonna do everything I can to make sure that titles more than just for show. *yaaawn* Ive gotta say though, managing the Phantom Thieves reputation is tiring work The forum gets all sorts of weird posts, including tons of things unrelated to reforming society Itd defeat the purpose of the site if the truth of the Phantom Thieves was buried among all that garbage. Oh, but you dont need to worry. Ill sort through all the trash. Speaking of which, Ive actually already found some worthwhile info about our very own school. Our quest to boost your popularity can start close to home!
Mishima seems motivated...
Mishimas Confidant is somewhat irregular in that in order to advance it you need to complete certain Mementos requests hell send you.
I might be overworking myself though *yaaawn* Man, Im exhausted I think Id fall asleep on the spot if I werent talking to you. I should head home See you later.
Music: Beneath the Mask
Whatever, Ill study when I feel like it.
That reminds me, the home shopping program is airing today You wanna check out the TV?
Heres what weve got for you today! Two Calming Masks! Cover your face and attain tranquility!
Its a fashion statement!
This is a limited item! Todays the one and only day itll be available! And it can be yours For the incredibly low price of 1980 yen! Were offering it for 1980 yen because its on sale for today only!
Oh, the phones are already ringing off the hook!
Once were sold out, thats it! Dont miss out on this deal!
Two Calming Masks, huh? Theyre just 1980 yen. Thinking of buying them?
I have no idea what these things do, but sure.
Oh, another buyers just called in! Thank you so much!
Well try to get your order to you as quickly as possible! Goodbye for now! Well see you again next time with another fabulous product!
Goodbye for now!
Now all we have to do is just wait for it to arrive.
The other Sunday pastime that we cant forget about is the aojiru, ugh.
Maaku gets Guts +1.
Time for work.
Music: Everyday Days
Oh shit, thats a lot of people.
Yikes A lot of customers just came in. Youre going to be bombarded with orders at this rate. Make sure you memorize them all!
What did the first person order?
Yes, thats right! What did the second person order?
Yeah, they did say that! What about the third customer?
Yep. Thats what I heard, too! What did the fourth customer order?
Yeah, youre right! That was the order! All right, now you just have to make everything and serve them!
Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)
Employees being overworked is becoming a real problem in the workplace. Thats concerning. Hm, I should remember this. Ill leave my payment here. Thank you for the food.
He was worried about employees in the workplace, huh? Well, I think he knows who you are now. We should go to the station square again sometime soon.
Music: Alright (Elp Version)
It seems there were a lot of customers today, but you handled it well on your own! I paid you a little extra today. Good work, keep it up!
Sweet, we got more money for
Im sure it was rough, but I think you handled it all quite proficiently !
Maaku gets Proficiency +3
And we finally make it to Rank 2.
Phew Well, I guess we should go home soon.